August 28, 2019 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tiger Woods says he has had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair what he describes as minor cartilage damage. The surgery was not believed to be serious, and Woods says on Twitter he expects to return to practice. Woods had the surgery last week during the Tour Championship. He won the Masters in April for his 15th major but did not finish among the top 30 in the FedEx Cup who qualified for the final event at East Lake.
August 27, 2019 3:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams had little trouble with Maria Sharapova as the two rivals kicked off the night session at the U.S. Open. The eighth-seeded Williams rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 rout that gives her 19 straight wins over Sharapova. Williams took control by winning the final five games of a 24-minute opening set, then the first two of the second set. Sharapova has dropped 20 of their 22 meetings and hasn’t beaten Williams since a pair of victories in 2004, including Wimbledon. Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic has breezed into the second round, but it took a while for women’s No. 2 Ash Barty to get going. Djokovic is 34-1 in his last 35 Grand Slam matches following a 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes on opening day at Flushing Meadows. The 34-year-old Djokovic is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title, his 17th major championship and third Grand Slam crown this year. Barty amassed 36 unforced errors and got less than half her first serves in before walking off the court with a 1-6, 6-3-6-2 victory. The reigning French Open champ rallied after dropping the opening set in 28 minutes. Women’s third seed Karolina Pliskova also struggled in her opener, overcoming 32 unforced errors for a 7-6, 7-6 win. Roger Federer dropped his opening set against a qualifier ranked 190th before coming back to eliminate Sumit Nagal of India, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. American Reilly Opelka pulled off an upset of men’s 11th seed Fabio Fognini, and women’s No. 14 Angelique Kerber was knocked out by Kristina Mladenovic.
August 26, 2019 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Trevor Bauer had another rocky outing for Cincinnati, allowing eight runs in three innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Reds 9-8 Sunday to sweep a three-game series. Since being acquired from the Cleveland Indians prior to the July 31 trade deadline, Bauer (10-11) is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five starts. Seven of the runs charged to him Sunday were earned, and he had two walks and two strikeouts. Bryan Reynolds hit a bases-loaded triple high off the right field wall to cap a three-run second inning that put the Pirates ahead for good at 5-3. The sweep was Pittsburgh’s first since taking three from San Diego on June 21-23. Eugenio Suarez’s leadoff home run in the ninth inning drew the Reds within a run, but Felipe Vazquez retired the last three hitters for his 23rd save in 25 opportunities. Pirates leadoff hitter Kevin Newman went 4 for 4, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases in helping send Cincinnati to its sixth straight road loss. Pittsburgh has won 10 consecutive games at home against the Reds, dating to last season. Dario Agrazal (3-3) allowed four runs in five innings to end his three-game losing streak. The rookie struck out five and walked two. Starling Marte’s run-scoring double with two outs in the eighth proved critical as it gave Pittsburgh a two-run lead at 9-7. Cincinnati rookie Josh VanMeter hit a two-run home run in the top of the inning that cleared the right field stands and bounced into the Allegheny River to make it a one-run game. Kyle Farmer also homered for the Reds and Jose Iglesias had three hits. The Pirates led 8-3 by the end of the third inning. Newman led off the first with a double and scored on a single by Reynolds before Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly drew Pittsburgh 3-2. After Reynolds put the Pirates ahead an inning later, Jose Osuna hit an RBI double, and Agrazal and Newman also drove in runs in a three-run third. The Reds jumped on Agrazal for three runs in the first on consecutive RBI singles by Aristides Aquino and Iglesias and a sacrifice fly by Curt Casali. Farmer hit a solo shot in the sixth off Michael Feliz to get Cincinnati within 8-5.
August 24, 2019 11:40 am
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – The U.S. men’s basketball team has lost for the first time in nearly 13 years, falling to Australia 98-94 in a pre-World Cup exhibition game on Saturday. Patty Mills scored 30 points for Australia, which rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half. It was the first loss for the U.S. in a major international tournament or exhibition since the 2006 world championship semifinals against Greece. The Americans won the bronze medal game of that tournament, and then were unbeaten through the cycles for the 2007 FIBA Americas, 2008 Olympics, 2010 World Cup, 2012 Olympics, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Add all that up, and it was a 78-game winning streak for the U.S. – the longest in program history. And it’s now over. USA Basketball is No. 1 in FIBA’s world rankings, but so far in the run-up to this World Cup – with most of the top NBA All-Stars deciding to not play this summer – the Americans have not looked like a lock for more gold. They beat Spain by nine in Anaheim, California on Aug. 16, needed a big second half to defeat Australia by 16 on Thursday, and then let a second-half lead slip away Saturday. Playing against his San Antonio coach, U.S. coach Gregg Popovich, Mills scored nine consecutive points for the Australians in the fourth quarter to help the hosts pull away. Kemba Walker scored 22 points for the U.S., and Harrison Barnes scored 20.
August 24, 2019 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pablo Reyes hit a game-ending RBI single, driving in pinch-runner Joe Musgrove, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Friday night. Pittsburgh won for just the ninth time in 39 games since the All-Star break by chipping away at Reds closer Raisel Iglesias (2-9). The Pirates put together three straight singles to start the ninth, the last a flare to shallow center by Adam Frazier that scored pinch-runner Erik Gonzalez. A sacrifice bunt by Jacob Stallings moved Musgrove to third and Reyes sent a drive to the gap in left-center to give Pittsburgh its eighth straight home victory over the Reds. Felipe Vazquez (4-1) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless top of the ninth. Cincinnati rookie Aristides Aquino hit his 12th homer of the month and an RBI double in the eighth while going 3 for 4 to boost his batting average to .338. Aquino’s drive to the first row of seats in center off Mitch Keller leading off the second gave him a dozen homers in 22 games, the fastest player to reach that total in major league history. The 24-year-old Aquino then put Cincinnati in position for its third straight win when he ripped a tiebreaking double to left in the eighth off Keone Kela. Aquino’s 12 homers since making his 2019 debut on Aug. 1 are two short of the club record for most home runs in a month, trailing the 14 Hall of Famer Frank Robinson hit in August 1962 and Greg Vaughn matched in September 1999. Keller, Pittsburgh’s top pitching prospect, put together the best start of his young career. The 23-year-old struck out nine in six-plus innings.
August 23, 2019 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates are parting ways with veteran catcher Francisco Cervelli, who has been hampered by multiple concussions this season. The club announced Thursday it requested unconditional release waivers for the 33-year-old Cervelli. He’s played just 34 games this season. Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington says the club wants give Cervelli – who recently completed a rehabilitation assignment – an opportunity to sign with another team rather than sit the bench. The last-place Pirates have split the catching duties between Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings. Cervelli is in the final season of a three-year, $31-million contract extension he signed in 2016. He spent four-plus seasons with Pittsburgh after being acquired in 2014 in a trade with the New York Yankees. He hit .295 in 130 games in 2015 for a team that won 98 games and reached the National League playoffs for the third straight year.
August 22, 2019 3:41 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Minnesota Wild have hired Bill Guerin as their new general manager. Guerin won two Stanley Cups as a player and two more titles in the front office with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is the fourth GM in Minnesota’s 19-year history. He takes over for Paul Fenton, who was fired three weeks ago by owner Craig Leipold. Guerin spent the last five seasons as assistant general manager of the Penguins.
August 21, 2019 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Star receiver Antonio Brown was back on the field for the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday after missing the previous practice as part of his dispute with the league and union over his helmet. Brown took part in a walkthrough without wearing a helmet and then went into the weight room as the rest of his teammates stretched. Brown came back out toward the end of the stretch but wasn’t wearing a helmet like all of his teammates who were practicing. Brown didn’t attend practice Sunday as he works to find a helmet that he’s comfortable using and that meets safety standards set by the NFL and NFLPA.
August 20, 2019 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Asdrubal Cabrera hit the last of Washington’s four home runs and drove in five runs, and three relievers combined for 6 2/3 innings of one-hit ball as the Nationals thumped the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-0 on Monday night. Adam Eaton, Matt Adams and Trea Turner also connected for the Nationals, who have scored 79 runs in their last eight games while going 7-1. They’ve scored 43 times in their past three, including a 15-14 loss. Adams added two doubles and had four RBIs. Juan Soto had four of Washington’s 15 hits and walked, reaching base in all five plate appearances. Javy Guerra (2-1) pitched 3 2/3 perfect innings in relief of Joe Ross, who departed in the fourth inning. Ross was hit in the left knee by a one-hopper off the bat of Josh Bell. Kyle McGowin and Tanner Rainey finished the four-hitter with one inning each for Washington’s 11th shutout of the season. The Nationals scored four runs off Trevor Williams (5-6) in each of the first two innings. Williams was removed after the second and was charged with eight runs – six earned – while giving up six hits and three walks. Pittsburgh fell to 7-28 since the All-Star break. Eaton homered with one out it the first and Adams added a two-run blast following a sacrifice fly by Cabrera. Turner’s three-run homer highlighted the second, which included an RBI double by Adams. The Nationals moved within five games of first-place Atlanta, which was idle, in the NL East and continue to lead the wild-card standings. Cabrera hit a two-run double in the fifth and scored on Adams’ double as the Nationals ran the lead to 11-0. He added a two-run homer in the ninth. Bell’s single off Ross’ knee in the fourth gave the Pirates runners at first and third with one out. However, Guerra got Colin Moran to hit into a double play.
August 19, 2019 3:52 am
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) – Jose Quintana pitched seven crisp innings, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Sunday night in the MLB Little League Classic. Nicholas Castellanos and Jason Heyward also connected as Chicago earned its second straight win since consecutive heartbreaking losses to the Phillies and Pirates. The Cubs took two of three in the unusual weekend set and remain in a virtual tie with St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central. It was the first road series win for Chicago since May 17-19 against Washington.
